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Klopp: Mentality the problem for Liverpool

Jurgen Klopp: Felt Liverpool lacked cool heads against Southampton

Jurgen Klopp believes Liverpool’s players lack calmness when it counts – and allowed their heads to drop after conceding an equaliser against Southampton.

Christian Benteke’s fine header looked to have put Liverpool on course for victory at Anfield on Saturday, but Sadio Mane scored from close range four minutes from the end to make it three draws from three games for Klopp as Reds manager.

The German believes the only thing lacking in the team is cool heads – and says both the players and crowd must stay positive after setbacks.

Klopp said: “They work so hard and are full of concentration and passion. Everything is there but we concede one goal and it felt like the end of the world. But it is not the end of the world, you can always come back.

“I really don’t understand this pressure in this moment, but the guys feel it and you can see it.

“The free-kick, everyone knows you should not concede things like this against a team like Southampton with their strength in the air and there were three one-on-ones in the air and it is a draw.

“We did not give up physically, but we didn’t believe any more that we could turn this game and that is a problem.

“I wouldn’t say it is a negative mentality. First of all you have to recognise it is like it is, it is not a sickness and you can change everything.”

Speaking to Sky Sports, Klopp added: “What I saw after they scored, they were all so disappointed. We had nine or ten minutes to play, there was another chance, but there was no belief anymore in the eyes.

“Nobody was able to push, say something positive at the moment. I think the fans were very disappointed too in this moment, because we all missed so much, but we have to be more calm in the situations we create.

“We work so hard, and then in the last situation we are not calm enough. They are strong enough, good enough, skilled enough, everything is there, but we are not cool, and that is the problem at this moment.

“We have to accept that things we don’t like happen in a football game, but you have to stay in the race, that’s all.”

Klopp’s Liverpool are now in ninth place with just three Premier League wins this season, already six points off the top four.

But the 48-year-old remains confident the current squad have the ability to succeed.

“We can do better with the players on the pitch. I see that they want, 100 per cent want, to win, to fight, to give all they have.

“Now we have to go further, development is never a short race, it is always a long thing. This league is too strong to make it easy and think now everything is better.

“When I came here I knew some things would be difficult, it’s normal, teams don’t wait for us.”